IN SHORT

IN SHORT; NONFICTION

By SUSAN CHIRA

Published: May 6, 1990

THE HOLLOW DOLL: A Little box of Japanese Shocks. by William Bohnaker. (Available/Ballantine, Paper, $8.95.) It comes as no surprise to a reader of William Bohnaker's lively and gracefully written book that he is a student of Zen. He peppers ''The Hollow Doll'' with pronouncements that resemble Zen Koans, or parables, that he clearly knows so well - alternately insightful, maddening, profound and simplistic. Mr. Bohnaker, a teacher and freelance writer, has a keen eye for the absurdities and tragedies that underlie Japan's widely publicized success. In prose that is sometimes exquisite and sometimes wickedly funny, he identifies the tensions trapped under the surface of Japan's industrial machine. His central thesis is perceptive: the Japanese do not live by a set of principles, but by a rigid collection of formulas, which allows them to behave in ways that often seem contradictory and violate Western notions of right and wrong. But like a koan, ''The Hollow Doll'' can seem too telegraphic and one-sided. At times, the picture is too bleak. Mr. Bohnaker does not discuss the rewards that bolster the Japanese system and so far appear to have kept most Japanese from rebelling - the acceptance and companionship a group provides, for example. Sometimes he presents oddities without perspective, which is like analyzing American culture after a romp through a tacky souvenir store. Finally, he does not explain why the Japanese have failed to act on their demonstrable frustrations. Despite these flaws, however, ''The Hollow Doll'' is a provocative and interesting glimpse under the veil that cloaks modern Japan.